While 911 centers handle a wide range of emergency calls each day, they also receive many nuisance calls and calls that are part of telephony-based threats. To block these malicious calls while enabling genuine emergencies to get through, 911 centers can deploy call authentication technology designed to verify the legitimacy of inbound calls. 911 call authentication technology acts as a frontline defense, reducing the risk of disruptive calls and ensuring that emergency responders can prioritize real emergencies. By allowing only genuine calls to get through, 911 call authentication solutions help protect emergency systems from malicious activities like swatting and Telephony Denial of Service (TDoS) attacks.

What Is 911 Call Authentication?

911 call authentication automates the process of validating incoming calls, allowing only calls concerning legitimate emergencies to reach operators and receive immediate assistance. Using advanced technologies, this technology filters out fake, spoofed, or suspicious calls before they have a chance to disrupt emergency services. Authentication ensures that every call routed through the network has been verified as genuine, preventing malicious actors from compromising the 911 system.

Call authentication occurs at several levels within the communication network, from the moment a call is placed to its arrival at the emergency center. It’s an essential technology for maintaining uninterrupted and efficient operations in 911 centers, where seconds can make the difference between life and death.

The Importance of 911 Call Authentication

911 systems face a variety of significant threats, making authentication essential for call center security. Common threats include:

  • TDoS Attacks A 911 center TDoS attack floods phone lines with fake calls, preventing real emergencies from reaching operators. These attacks typically use auto dialers and botnets to place an overwhelming number of calls to emergency systems, potentially delaying life-saving responses and creating risks to public safety. TDoS attacks are especially dangerous when they coincide or are coordinated with other crises, such as natural disasters or physical security threats, when access to emergency services is critical.

  • Robocalls Robocalls made by automated dialers can clog phone lines, significantly reducing a 911 center’s ability to handle real emergencies. While some robocalls to 911 may be accidental or unintentional, others are designed to disrupt services deliberately. These high volumes of automated calls can mimic legitimate call patterns, making it challenging for operators and systems to distinguish real emergencies from fake calls.

  • Swatting In swatting attacks, individuals place fake emergency calls to report an urgent and potentially violent situation, resulting in law enforcement or SWAT teams being sent to locations on false pretenses. Swatting wastes valuable resources and endangers the lives of emergency responders and of the unsuspecting individuals at the targeted location. Swatting can also divert resources away from real emergencies.

  • Spoofed Calls Attackers manipulate caller ID information to disguise the origin of their calls, making it harder to trace and block illegitimate traffic. Spoofed calls are often used in conjunction with other attacks, such as TDoS or phishing schemes, to evade detection and increase their effectiveness.

How Call Authentication Works

911 call authentication involves several steps to ensure only legitimate calls reach emergency responders:

  1. Call Metadata Analysis When a call is initiated, its metadata—including information such as call origin, routing paths, and frequency—is analyzed in real-time. This process identifies anomalies, such as repeated calls from the same number or unusual geographic routing patterns, which could indicate malicious activity. By flagging these irregularities, the system can prevent suspicious calls from getting through.

  2. Caller ID Validation Protocols like STIR/SHAKEN (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited/Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs) help verify the authenticity of caller IDs. This method ensures that the displayed caller ID matches the origin of the call, reducing the risk of spoofed calls. STIR/SHAKEN uses digital certificates issued by trusted authorities to confirm that the source of the call is legitimate, adding an extra layer of security.

  3. Risk Assessment Once metadata and caller ID are validated, calls are scored based on criteria like known attack patterns, geographic location, and traffic volume. For instance, a call originating from a hotspot that’s known for spoofing or a location with unusually high frequency may be assigned a higher risk score. This scoring system allows for dynamic and precise filtering, prioritizing legitimate calls while blocking or flagging high-risk ones.

  4. Filtering and Blocking High-risk calls flagged during the earlier stages are either blocked or redirected to prevent them from reaching 911 operators. Call filtering software plays a critical role here, analyzing call patterns and applying predefined rules to manage traffic effectively. By intercepting malicious calls before they reach operators, this step ensures uninterrupted access for genuine emergencies.

  5. Integration With Call Center Software Authentication systems seamlessly integrate with inbound call center software to optimize call routing and prioritization. Integration ensures that validated calls are directed to the appropriate operators without delay, improving the efficiency and reliability of emergency response systems.

Benefits of 911 Call Authentication

Deploying call authentication systems in emergency services centers provides several key benefits.

  • Enhanced Voice Security Call authentication strengthens voice security by protecting critical communication channels from malicious actors. It ensures that only verified calls reach emergency operators, reducing the likelihood of system disruptions caused by spoofed or fraudulent calls.
  • Faster Emergency Response By filtering out fake calls, authentication systems allow emergency responders to focus on genuine calls. This improves response times and enables help to reach those who need it more quickly and efficiently.
  • Stronger Call Center Security Authentication prevents systems that handle sensitive communication from being compromised. It safeguards the technology stack of 911 centers, making it more resilient to attacks and reducing vulnerabilities that could threaten public safety.
  • Reduced Operator Strain By eliminating illegitimate calls, authentication systems minimize the workload on 911 operators. This reduction in the volume of unnecessary calls helps operators concentrate on real emergencies, decreasing stress and the potential for errors.
  • Improved Public Trust Reliable and secure emergency communication systems reinforce public confidence in 911 services. Knowing that the system can filter out threats and prioritize genuine emergencies reassures citizens that help will be available when they need it most.

SecureLogix®: Call Authentication, Security, and Trust

SecureLogix protects businesses and call centers from a broad range of threats while promoting call trust and reducing costs. As the only vendor in the telephony industry with a unified solution for all the threats and issues facing enterprise voice systems, we deliver solutions that protect some of the most complex contact centers and voice networks in the world. For 20+ years, we have profiled, tracked, and defended customers against a rapidly evolving landscape of risks that threaten contact centers and unified communications networks, including TDoS attacks, call fraud, robocalls, voice spam, call spoofing, vishing, and issues with phone number reputation.

SecureLogix® Orchestra One™: Technology for 911 Call Authentication

SecureLogix® Orchestra One™ provides automated, inbound call authentication capabilities for contact centers and 911 emergency services. This SecureLogix technology quickly verifies and authenticates every inbound call, using multiple zero-cost and low-cost metadata services to authenticate each call at the lowest possible price. By analyzing and orchestrating thousands of call details as well as real-time carrier network metadata, Orchestra One™ delivers a rigorous, high-value authentication score for each call with technology that is smart, efficient, and affordable.

Key Benefits

  • Robust Protection Defend against a wide range of attacks and fraud directed at 911 centers.
  • Affordable Authentication Reduce authentication costs by 50% vs. competitors.
  • Increased Efficiency Authenticate calls before they reach 911 operators.

Additional Solutions for 911 Centers

In addition to 911 call authentication technology, SecureLogix offers solutions designed to improve call center security:

  • SecureLogix® Call Defense™ System Combines a voice firewall, intrusion prevention system, and a database of malicious callers to provide industry-leading protection for 911 emergency services and other contact centers. The Call Defense™ System sits at the edge of a voice network and filters good traffic from bad in real-time, reducing unwanted calls and protecting emergency services centers from attacks and disruption. An intrusion prevention system (IPS) provides TDoS protection for 911 centers by enforcing call volume thresholds and traffic velocity limits.

  • SecureLogix® Call Secure™ Delivers the security protection of the Call Defense™ System in a fully managed service administered by the most experienced call security experts in the industry. This SecureLogix solution is vendor and protocol agnostic, supporting all network architectures and any mix of TDM and SIP traffic.

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